JAKARTA - France head coach Didier Deschamps jokingly avoided questions about his team's status as favorites for the 2026 World Cup and chose to praise semifinal opponent Spain, as well as predicting a spectacular match on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, early morning WIB.
"They can attack and defend very well. They only conceded one goal. Luis and I, we know how to defend well, but with the quality of both teams offensively, we think it will be a spectacular game," Deschamps said of Spain.
Spain and France enter the 2026 World Cup as favourites. Opta give Spain the best chance of winning (16.1 per cent) then with France in second place with 13.0 per cent.
"If you look at what Spain did in the first game against Cape Verde (a 0-0 draw), forget about it."
"However, in other matches, Spain confirmed that they are the favorites. I don't want to add extra pressure on Luis (de la Fuente) and his team. He knows very well that people expect a lot from his team," he said.
Aside from Spain's goalless draw against Cape Verde - a game played without star winger Lamine Yamal in the starting lineup - neither team gave any reason to doubt them.
Yamal, who turns 19 on Monday, July 13, 2026, has only scored one goal and no assists. Although he has only played 405 of Spain's 540 minutes so far, he still leads the team in shots, on-target shots, won duels on the pitch, and successful crosses.
"It will be a great game for all the fans, for the people in Spain, in France. I'm sure everyone wants this game to happen in the 2026 World Cup."
"Both teams will try to attack and defend with all their abilities. This will be a very tight match," said Yamal.
France have produced the best goal difference (+2.3 per game) and the best goal difference (+1.7 per game), averaging the fourth most goals (2.7) and the third fewest (0.3).
Meanwhile, Spain conceded the least (one in six games) and the second fewest shots on goal (5.8 per game).
De la Fuente, on the other hand, avoided getting involved in talks about a favorite team at all.
"I've said from the start that talking about favorite teams doesn't determine anything. It's true that we are two incredible national teams, just like the match you expect in a big final."
"Whether one team is considered a favorite or not, it doesn't really matter. I also want to remember a good friend of mine, who used to say in situations like this: 'If they want to call someone a favorite, let them.' We don't want any extra pressure."
"The only pressure we have is the responsibility we have to our country, our supporters, and ourselves," said De la Fuente.
Spain and France will start the match at 3 p.m. local time on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, or Wednesday, July 15, 2026, early morning WIB.
The winner will play against the winner of the England vs Argentina match in the final in New Jersey on Monday, July 20, 2026, early morning WIB.
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